There is no mistaking the Hazarabedian family's Moraga home...it's the one with the Cal banner out front. The Hazarabedian's are rabid supporters of Cal, in fact Bonnie and Ed named their daughter Callie. Portrait of the family members Ed, Bonnie and 11 year old Callie (14 year old Zack not pictured) taken in front of their Moraga home.
Stanfords new state of the art stadium means that fewer fans will actually be able to get in to see the game. Especially Cal fans like the the Hazarabedians . Photo by Michael Maloney / San Francisco Chronicle Photo taken on 6/4/07 in MORAGA, CA
***Bonnie, Ed, Callie and Zack Hazarabedian MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SF CHRONICLE/NO SALES-MAGS OUT less

There is no mistaking the Hazarabedian family's Moraga home...it's the one with the Cal banner out front. The Hazarabedian's are rabid supporters of Cal, in fact Bonnie and Ed named their daughter Callie. ... more

Photo: Michael Maloney

Image 3 of 4

Stanford's New Stadium. Chronicle graphic by John Blanchard

Stanford's New Stadium. Chronicle graphic by John Blanchard

Image 4 of 4

BIG GAME BLUES / SHUT OUT: Downsized Stanford Stadium means Cal fans need to get creative if they want tickets to hallowed event this year

1 / 4

Back to Gallery

When 14-year-old Zack Hazarabedian heard his family would miss their first Big Game in decades, he was devastated.

The Hazarabedians and roughly 30,000 other Cal fans will be shut out of the fabled contest this year because of limited seating at the newly rebuilt -- and significantly smaller -- Stanford Stadium.

"He thought we should sell the house to buy tickets," said his mother, Bonnie Hazarabedian of Moraga. "I told him, 'Sweetie, we can't.' To him, missing the Big Game is unthinkable."

Perhaps never in the history of the game have Old Blues suffered so much anguish half a year before kickoff.

The 115-year-old Cal-Stanford football contest transcends mere athletics. It's a gathering of the tribes, a bacchanalian ritual akin to Mardi Gras and Christmas combined. For fans of both schools, the Big Game is seared into their internal clock like the turning of the seasons.

In the past, any Cal season ticket holder automatically got a ticket to the Big Game. But that has changed -- tickets for November's showdown are expected to be rarer than Stanford victories last year. The only way for Cal fans to get Big Game tickets at this point is to have donated at least $6,800 to the athletic booster fund or to buy Stanford season tickets.

Many have.

"Oh, yeah, a lot of Cal fans have bought Stanford season tickets," said Catherine Brennan, director of alumni athletic events at the Cal Alumni Association. "It's unfortunate, but if you really want a ticket to something, you'll find a way to get one."

Anyone can get a Big Game ticket by buying a Stanford season ticket, which ranges from $185 to $299. So far, Stanford season ticket sales are about the same as last year, and the school, which recently hired a new football coach, expects to sell 25,000 to 30,000, said Gary Migdol, senior assistant athletic director.

"We have no idea if Cal fans are buying Stanford season tickets," he said. "That question is not on the ticket application. But I can tell you that right now there are plenty of Big Game tickets available for anyone who wants to buy a Stanford season ticket."

That pill is too bitter for some Cal fans.

"I'm not giving them my money," said Bonnie Hazarabedian, who is such a Cal fan that she named her daughter Callie. "There has to be a better option."

Some suggested that Cal show the game on giant TV screens at Memorial Stadium, but there might be a conflict over television broadcast rights, said Cal's deputy athletic director, Steve Holton.

Another option is to move the game to Monster Park, but advertisers who bought signs at Stanford Stadium probably would not agree to one less home game than is promised in their contract, Migdol said.

"This is not a good situation. No doubt about it," said Holton. "But all we can do is try to be as honest and up-front with people as possible and deal with this as best we can. Stanford Stadium's not going to get any bigger."

The Big Game ticket scramble originated about two years ago, when Stanford announced it was razing its 85,000-seat stadium and replacing it with one that seats only 50,000.

Stanford is reserving 35,000 Big Game seats for Stanford season ticket holders, students, faculty and fans, and it gave 15,011 to Cal, the same number Stanford gives to all visiting teams.

The problem is that, typically, 40,000 to 45,000 Cal fans attend the Big Game every year, whether it's at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley or at Stanford.

Cal is expected to draw even more fans this year, coming off a 45-10 win in the 2006 Holiday Bowl and starting the 2007 season ranked No. 12. (Stanford hopes to better its 1-11 season from last year).

Of Cal's 15,011-ticket allotment, 5,000 will go to students, the Cal Band and staff.

First dibs on Cal's share of the remaining Big Game tickets, which cost $65 each, will go to season ticket holders who donated at least $6,800 to the athletic department between Sept. 1, 2006, and June 1, when those tickets went on sale. About 300 people fall into that category, and each is allowed to buy six tickets.

On June 15, tickets will be available to season ticket holders who gave at least $1,800 and those who lack season tickets but gave more than $6,800, of which there are hundreds. Any leftover tickets will go on sale to the remainder of the season ticket holders on June 29. The general public will get a shot on July 15, but it's widely expected that the tickets will be long gone by then.

Chris Avery, who publishes a Cal fan magazine called Bear Insider, said the ticket debacle represents "the end of an era."

"It's a sad end to a time when anyone who wanted to go to the game could go, regardless of whether they were donors," he said. "It's a big change on a philosophical level, and it will change the nature of the event."

Now, he said, "Cal fans will have to ask their Stanford friends to get them tickets, although they probably won't admit they have Stanford friends."

Recent Cal graduate Natalie Parker and her husband, Bill, have been plotting how to snag their Big Game tickets since they first heard Stanford was shrinking its stadium.

"To us, it's really, really important we go to the game," said Natalie Parker, who asked to be spared the social embarrassment of revealing the source of her Big Game tickets. "I think it'll get pretty stressful for people around August or September. I'm excited we're going -- I just hope our friends can go, too."